I have nothing coherent to add. Well, except maybe this.
In Closing: gluten; poverty and family planning; and lying rat bastards extend NSA’s mandate to Gather Everything.
Tag: women’s issues
Music Monday: A Night at the Symphony
This is probably my favorite full symphony composition of all time. And that’s saying something from a lady who loves her some Wolfgang Amadeus (yeah yeah and props to Ludwig Van).
In Closing: some more NSA and privacy follies; student loans; crude; illustration of double standard; embarrassing coincidence; lost Sherlock Holmes story; malls have always been an easy target and I’m not sure why this is news (oh but if you had to go through a TSA checkpoint to go shopping I bet Americans would say enough); a shocking misunderstanding of anatomy; because ads will surely cure you; and amusing alteration of signage.
Crystal Ball
It is the year 2035, and one court case is receiving a whole lot of attention: Average vs Doe. The facts of the case seem simple. Back in 2020 Joe Average got married to Mary Doe-Average. Just last year, Mary tragically succumbed to cervical cancer. Doctors were able to trace her cancer to Human Papilloma Virus.
When Mary was a pre-teen, her parents John and Jane Doe decided they would not consent to her receiving the vaccine for HPV, despite the fact that her school encouraged all incoming 7th graders to get this vaccination. Their reasoning was that they were not going to do anything that would encourage her to have premarital sex. Unfortunately, Mary was raped as a teenager. Despite the fact that Mary and Joe had a completely monogamous relationship, Mary got HPV as a result of that rape.
Joe is suing the Does for wrongful death and a bunch of other things his lawyers thought up. His reasoning is that his beloved Mary would still be with him today if it weren’t for a short-sighted decision by her parents. The Does argue that they had no control over what happened.
How do you think this will play out?
In Closing: more spying on Americans; a couple of hopefully last words on vaccines.
What a laugh
The Good, the Bad, and the Habitual
Today’s question:
Do you think you have more good habits or bad habits?
I thought about going a little zen on this question and simply saying “yes.” I have good habits, I have bad habits, I don’t know that I ever bothered comparing the two. I suppose I’d like to think I have more good than bad, and there are people who might disagree.
Sorry, not the best post. But hey, yesterday you got a good rant!
In Closing: Stingray; the London Stone; Women of the Senate; with more people identifying as liberal, I wonder when politicians will stop fearing the word; climate denial; policy; and the Real Johnny Appleseed.
On Good Habits
Today’s question:
Do you have any good habits that were hard to start but you’re happy you worked to build them?
Well yes, I have a lot of habits that were hard to start. For example, it was very hard to get started working out regularly. Sadly, it’s much more fun to hit the snooze button than to get up and sweat. It’s more fun to go out to breakfast than to go to yoga class when you’re starting. But you know what? I’m stronger and more flexible than I was the day I graduated high school.
I also had a hard time getting in the habit of keeping my nails polished. Let’s face reality, I’m not one of those naturally-girly girls but rather one who has to work at it. So finding the time to give myself a manicure (and a pedicure) is something I do in the name of feeling more feminine. Sure, I could pay somebody to make this happen, but this way it happens on my schedule.
So yes, good habits are worth developing.
In Closing: New antibiotic; calorie myths; a pound of fat a day; ok I promise my last weight link of the day; wasting no time. See everybody tomorrow.
Hard Habit to Break
Today I’m actually using the official prompt:
Have you ever tried to break a habit and failed? What made it so difficult to break?
Ok, this is a weird one. I’m still not quite over this habit: I have a hard time passing up things that are cheap or free.
I’ve got dozens of books on my Kindle that I don’t know when I’ll have time to read them, but they were free! I’ve got canned food in my pantry that I only have because it was on sale — and theoretically I’ll use it eventually. I’ve been known to buy clothes that fit but aren’t really my style because they were so inexpensive.
Why is this a hard habit to break? Well, because it’s easy to think I’m being thrifty. In the case of free ebooks, it doesn’t actually cost me anything. In the case of food, well, I guess I’m well prepared for an emergency. In short, one person’s bad habit is another’s good habit.
Oh hey, and just the other day I got this free ebook on how to break bad habits!
In Closing: the case of the blonde MIT student; Ha Ha Harvard; not entirely sure how one solves problems without strong reading and math skills; crime, security, and privacy; and the intellectual heirs of MacHack.
Music Monday: Weezer
In Closing: Reading about the people justifying torture can seem like they are torturing the truth; a few police brutality and racism items; common sense may not be common; TPP; she can’t be trusted to make a decision regarding having a baby, but she can somehow be trusted with a baby. Oh, and one last must read commentary.
Music Monday: Oooh Shiny
In Closing: a few words on the disconnect between the economy as you know it and the economy as some others know it; banned in Vegas; a few words on the elections and what it means going forward (thanks, Doctor); walk in, walk out; she’s not pink, but she’s still blonde; showing up is important; regrettably true.
The Town that Dreaded Shorties
Dinosaur Mystery: This huge-armed dinosaur is stranger than imagined.
Underwater Mystery: Amazing shipwreck pictures.
Women’s Issues: OTC birth control pills?
Obama: Apparently somebody else realized that the guy is a tweak to the right of Nixon. Oh yeah, and how dare he actually work with others around the world rather than just telling them all how shit is going down because we’re America and we know best.
A few random food and diet items: milk; resistant starch; sweetened soda isn’t just bad for you, it’s bad for your chromosomes.
Taking care of business: some of the oldest operating businesses in the world; and the history of money.
Halloween is coming: and that means sexy costumes are coming for no good reason.
Mormons: They would like us to know that it’s not really magic underwear.
Some random economy items: rent is going up faster than wages; wealth is growing faster than income, too; and of course that assumes that workers are being paid at all.
I hope nobody is surprised: banks behaving badly.
And check out some new music: Mixtress B.